mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
i think it is interesting that the gentlewoman is from connecticut . 
if my colleagues remember that map , public lands are insignificant in connecticut by comparison with states in the west where we have up to 85 or 90 percent of the land owned by the government . 
i said at the outset that this is not an nea-bashing amendment . 
the nea does many good things ; but we only have so much money , and the committee knows that is the case . 
they are the ones that had to struggle with the allocation they got and they had to make tough , tough choices . 
when you have to make choices , i think you need to ask yourself the question , nea , as good as it is in some areas , is it better than having the funds to educate your children in many of those western states ? 
is it better than having the funds to provide fire protection , to provide police protection , to take care of those public lands that are out there ? 
which is better ? 
we have to weigh it and balance it . 
the gentleman from washington ( mr. dicks ) xz4001090 said a while ago that he thought they had a pretty good balance . 
i think that if you are making these choices , the balance needs to lean a little bit more to the pilt . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
